“Marry me, Piper,” he rasped as he pulled a gorgeous ring from the box and slid it onto my finger.
It sounded more like an order than a question, but I answered anyway. “Yes. Absolutely, positively yes.”
The smile he flashed me was blinding. “Because you love me?”
I nodded, tears of joy streaming down my cheeks. “So, so much.”
“Thank fuck.” He traced over the band with his thumb before pressing a kiss to the skin just above where it rested. “Maybe I’ll be able to keep my shit in check while I hunt for the guy who’s been fucking with you. Between fucking you and seeing my ring on your finger, I’m feeling slightly less homicidal. And my reward for figuring this shit out will be exploring my soon-to-be wife’s luscious body for as long as I want.”
10
Deacon
I kissed Piper’s finger again before planting one on her lips, then I stood. Gently, I pushed her shoulder until she fell backward onto the bed.
“Does this mean you changed your mind?” she asked with a laugh.
I grinned and shook my head as I pulled the comforter up over her gorgeous body. “No, baby. I need to get this taken care of so it’s not hanging over us anymore. But you should rest. You’re going to need lots of energy once I’m done.”
Piper giggled, and her eyes twinkled merrily. “Yes, sir!”
And just like that, the relief I’d felt after fucking her disappeared. I was as hard as a fucking rock again. I bent over her, stopping when our faces were inches apart, and rumbled, “After I take care of this bullshit, I want to hear you say that right before I thrust my big dick into your pretty mouth.”
Her blue irises darkened with desire, and her lips parted, drawing my gaze. I traced her mouth with my index finger before dipping it inside. When she immediately sucked on it, I groaned and nearly gave in to my craving for her. “You like the idea of sucking my cock, baby?” She nodded and swirled her tongue around my digit. “You want to taste my come on your tongue?”
Piper moaned, and I knew if I didn’t stop playing with her, I’d end up buried in her pussy instead of working on her stalker problem. Reluctantly, I dragged my finger out of her mouth and kissed her long and deep.
She was dazed and relaxed when I pulled back. I kissed her nose, then whispered, “Sleep,” before I headed back to my computer.
Merrick had sent the footage through a secure email and included a list with dates and time stamps that he thought I should pay particular attention to.
The first two I looked at turned out to be nurses on the same rotation, making it seem like they were following her. Since they were male, I understood why Merrick flagged them. The next one was a doctor who seemed to run up to her frequently when she was alone. I frowned and zoomed in on a time when he handed her something that obviously wasn’t a chart. I growled when I saw that it was a small, wrapped present.
“That’s Dr. Jessup,” Piper said from behind my right shoulder. I glanced back to see that she’d pulled on my T-shirt and wandered over to look at the footage with me. I didn’t want her involved or reminded of this crap, but the truth was, narrowing down the prospective stalkers would probably go faster with her input.
“Has he been bothering you?” I didn’t like the look of the guy. He was too...pretty. While I wasn’t an ogre, I was a SEAL. And a cowboy. Those jobs came with tanned skin weathered from harsh environments, short hair that couldn’t be styled, and scars. Piper clearly went for the rugged type since she’d fallen for me, but I couldn’t help the twinge of possessive jealousy when he touched her hand, and she smiled.
“Oh, no,” Piper giggled. “That present is for his husband, Calvin.” The additional information made me feel marginally better. Although, I was of the opinion that my Piper was more than enough to tempt any man. “They’re coming up on their tenth anniversary, and Dr. Jessup enlisted me to help with a surprise for Calvin. He’s a nurse in the NICU, and Dr. Jessup is a plastic surgeon, so his presence would have been obvious. I left him little presents that were clues to the two-week European tour Dr. Jessup had planned. It was adorable.” Piper’s expression was a little dreamy, so I filed that story away for future reference.
I forwarded to the next segment on Merrick’s list, and Piper harrumphed when a tall, dark-haired man in a uniform strolled in front of the camera. “You know him?”
“Kind of. Greg is the security guard on my floor. I went to him about all the weird stuff happening, and he just dismissed my concerns. Said I was reading too much into the situation, and I should be thankful for the nice things someone was doing for me.”